Penn State women’s volleyball season has had its ups and downs this season.

It started this season as the No. 2 team in the country and won its first two matches of the season against ranked opponents. After that, it lost three consecutive matches and lost star setter Izzy Starck. Even though the Nittany Lions ended their non-conference slate winning four of their next five, they headed into conference play losing to four straight ranked opponents after losing to Pitt during this stretch.

While they ended that losing streak with a win over USC, the defending champs could not follow through with that momentum, losing to an unranked UCLA team. Then, they hit a huge low as Nebraska swept them in humiliating fashion. Despite bouncing back with a five-set win over Maryland, the blue and white almost let a two-set lead slip away in this match and fell to No. 19 in last week’s rankings.

However, Penn State had its signature moment during its White Out on Friday. Not only did it beat Wisconsin, but it also swept them, marking the first time that the blue and white swept the Badgers since 2015. It was the first time that they beat a top-10 opponent this season, and Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley talked after the Wisconsin match about how important that win was.

“I think the team is doing the right things off the court, that is helping them to be successful,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “It’s always nice to win in the [Big Ten]. I think it gives us the confidence to continue to prepare and get better every day we’re in the gym.”

Leading the way in that victory was outside hitter Kennedy Martin. She put the Nittany Lions on her back in this upset win by having more than half of the team’s kills. Martin recorded 23 of Penn State’s 44 kills and was very efficient, with a hitting percentage of .474. After the match, she talked about what worked so well for her in this win.

“I think me and Addie [Lyon] have been working really hard to figure out a connection,” Martin said. “I knew I could just spin away because I had girls behind me to cover, and that was a good match for the whole team.”

After beating Wisconsin, Penn State had a quick turnaround, facing a Northwestern team that had 12 wins and was coming off a sweep over Rutgers in less than 24 hours. This was something that the Nittany Lions had struggled with as they had struggled to consistently win back-to-back matches during a weekend. It had only happened once when they beat Princeton and Central Michigan in the Penn State Classic.

The Nittany Lions answered the call and went on to beat Northwestern in four sets. They now have 10 wins under their belt, but it won’t get easier for this team. They will play a lot of weekends with back-to-backs, starting with a road trip to the West Coast this week. However, Schumacher-Cawley talked about what impressed her the most about her team after the Northwestern match.

“We’ll play quite a few next weekends back-to-back as well. So, it’s having the ability to take care of their bodies and to do the right things when they’re not here,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “They’ve been putting in that effort on and off the court to help themselves be prepared. I know they’ll continue to do that.”

Not only is it evident on the scoreboard that Penn State is playing much better since the Nebraska loss, but also on the stat sheet. Other than Martin, players on the team have been stepping up. Maggie Mendelson had double-digit kills in the wins over Maryland and Wisconsin. She had the second-most number of kills in both these wins.

Caroline Jurevicius had been struggling most of the season with her new role, but this weekend felt like a season-changing weekend for her. After not playing against Maryland, she has played significantly better, as she recorded seven kills against Wisconsin and 13 against Northwestern. That was her second-highest amount of kills this season, only behind her 14 kills in the win over Kansas.

Everyone on the team has been playing much better. The Nebraska loss felt like a wake-up call for this team, and they have been showing their resilience since then. The defending champs look to have finally hit their stride, and it is showing that, despite the early struggles, it is turning their season around.